Windsor snapped a five-game losing-streak with a 4-2 road-win over the North Bay Battalion in OHL action Thursday night.
Spitfire Cole Purboo would face his brother Christian in the North Bay goal, but his teammates would handle the sibling-rivalry for him. Curtis Douglas got things rolling for Windsor with his 20th goal of the year 12-minutes into the game, the first of four unanswered goals to put Windsor in front 4-0 heading into the third-period.
Luke Burghardt scored twice in the third period, but a two-goal lead was enough for goaltender Colton Incze to ring in his 19th birthday with a 4-2 win.
"I always love playing in North Bay because I got my first OHL win here a few years ago," says Incze. "Adam Denis, their assistant coach, is actually my goalie coach back home. I love trying to impress him and he always gets a little bit pissed-off when I beat him in his own rink."
He says — with the team jockeying for position heading into the playoffs — everyone bought into Head Coach Trevor Letowski's plan.
"If you look at the standings in the Western Division right now, fifth to ninth is pretty jammed-up so we played desperate right from the puck drop. I know Trevor [Letowski] was emphasizing that in the room," he says.
The win could be costly for the Spitfires as Greyson Ladd left the game with an injury early in the third period, but Sean Allen will return from suspension Friday night in Sudbury.
Incze tells AM800 News his teammates left it all on the ice after dropping down to four defensemen in the third.
"Obviously that's pretty exhausting so good on them for battling there for me," says Incze. "I thought we were a little bit loose for a few periods there but we're a young team and I think we have to give a lot of credit to them for blocking shots and finding a way to close that one out."
Incze stopped 38-shots in the win — Ben Garagan, Luke Boka, and Daniel D'Amico also scored for the Spitfires.
Windsor holds onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, five points up on the Erie Otters.
The Spitfires will battle the Wolves in Sudbury Friday night — puck drops at 7:05pm.
Tune into AM800 for all the action.